Characterization of X-Ray Films to be Stipulated as Hazardous Waste *)

Since generated from an activity, X-ray films at some point can end up as waste. Due to the use of fixer and developer solutions which contain silver halides on the printing process, X-ray films might also contain significant level of silver. Fixer and developer solutions themselves are classified as hazardous waste according to PP 101/2014, thus X-ray films might also be classified as hazardous waste as well. Since not listed as hazardous waste on PP 101/2014, characterization must be conducted in order to stipulate whether the X-ray films are classified as hazardous waste or not. Characterization conducted on this investigation was using two sheets of X-ray films which were taken in 1998 and 2004 respectively. From this characterization, it was obtained that X-ray films contains 1812 ppm of silver and 0,4148 ppm of mercury, and only leached out 1,214 ppm of silver. Within these results, X-ray films can be classified as hazardous waste category 2 according to PP 101/2014, with code B101d, and can be disposed directly into Secure Landfill Class 1, 2 or 3. As alternative, they can also be treated via recycling process to recover the silver. However, it is still suspected that the silver concentration, both on waste and TCLP, might be greater than the results obtained from this investigation if using X-ray films that are relatively new (0 – 5 years); further investigation should be conducted.